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The present invention relates generally to car seat accessories, and more particularly to a support member configured for retrofit placement into an infant car seat and specifically adapted to provide firm, adjustable support to the head of the infant alone or in combination with the infant""s body.
There is currently known in the prior art a wide variety of infant carrying car seats which are adapted to maintain an infant in a secure, rearwardly facing orientation upon a vehicle seat. The common structural attributes of these prior art car seats include a receptacle which is typically fabricated from a hard plastic material and specifically shaped to accommodate the infant wherein the infant is generally maintained in a reclined, sitting position. Protruding from the receptacle in spaced relation to each other is a pair of shoulder straps, the distal ends of which are attached to a common support member. The support member typically has a generally T-shaped configuration, with the distal ends of the shoulder straps being attached to the horizontal segment of the support member. The distal end of the vertical segment of the support member typically has a buckle protruding therefrom which is receivable into a complementary lock mechanism disposed within the receptacle. Upon the placement of the infant into the receptacle, the shoulder straps are advanced over the infant""s head so as to extend about the infant""s shoulders such that the support member generally rests upon the infant""s chest. The buckle of the support member is then advanced into the locking mechanism, thus securing the infant within the receptacle. The prior art car seats include a tightening mechanism which allows the shoulder straps to be firmly engaged to the infant""s shoulders upon the receipt of the buckle into the locking mechanism.
The receptacles of prior art infant car seats are typically sized to accommodate an infant of one year of age or older. Thus, the receptacles typically substantially exceed the size of very young infants (e.g., newborns). As such, upon the placement of very young infants into car seats, there is a tendency for the infant, and particularly its head, to move or shift within the receptacle despite the restraints imposed by the shoulder straps and support member. To alleviate this problem, there has been developed in the prior art car seat accessories which are adapted to provide a greater level of support to a very small infant within the receptacle of the car seat.
Perhaps the most popular of the currently known car seat accessories is a liner which is adapted for placement into the receptacle of the car seat. The prior art liner includes a main body defining various slots adapted to accommodate the shoulder straps and buckle of the support member. Formed on one end of the main body is a padded, arcuate wall which, when the infant is rested upon the main body, is adapted to extend about the infant""s head. The padded wall is intended to fill at least a portion of the gap or void which would otherwise be defined between the infant""s head and the side walls of the receptacle of the car seat.
Though the prior art liners are generally operative to provide a more xe2x80x9csnugxe2x80x9d fit between the infant and the receptacle of the car seat, they possess certain deficiencies which detract from their overall utility. The deficiencies are most apparent in the case of very young infants and newborns wherein the size of the wall of the liner is typically insufficient to firmly support the infant""s head. More particularly, though the wall of the prior art liner fills some of the gap or void between the infant""s head and the side walls of the receptacle, there is still typically a gap or space between the head of the newborn or very young infant and the wall itself. This gap typically results in the infant""s head moving from side-to-side or being cocked over to one particular side within the liner. To alleviate this condition, a common practice for parents is to roll up one or more diapers or towels and wedge them between the sides of the infant""s head and the wall of the liner so as to provide firm support to the infant""s head.
The present invention overcomes this deficiency by providing a car seat support which is adapted for retrofit placement into the receptacle of the car seat and includes a pair of adjustable ear portions which are adapted to completely fill the gap or void otherwise defined between the infant""s head and the side walls of the receptacle, thus providing firm support to the infant""s head within the car seat. The adjustability of the ear portions of the present car seat support is adapted to accommodate the growth of the infant. Thus, as the infant matures, the effective width or thickness of each of the ear portions can be adjusted as needed to maintain firm support to the infant""s head. The present invention also provides a supplemental support which may be used in conjunction with the car seat support and provides similar, adjustable support to the torso and arms of the infant within the receptacle of the car seat. These, as well as other features and advantages of the present invention, will be describe in more detail below.
In accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a car seat support comprising an elongate body portion which defines opposed ends. Extending from one end of the body portion is an integral head portion which itself defines opposed sides. A pair of slots are defined between the body and head portions, with the slots being sized and configured to accommodate respective ones of a pair of shoulder straps of a conventional infant car seat. Additionally, formed within that end of the body portion opposite the end having the head portion extending therefrom is a notch which is adapted to provide access to a buckle receiving locking mechanism of the car seat. In this regard, the car seat support of the present invention is specifically adapted for retrofit placement into the receptacle of a conventional infant car seat, with the body portion being sized such that the slots and notch are in proper alignment or registry with the shoulder straps and locking mechanism of the car seat when the car seat support is properly positioned or oriented within the receptacle thereof.
In addition to the body and head portions, the car seat support of the first embodiment includes an identically configured pair of elongate ear portions which are integral with and extend laterally from respective ones of the opposed sides of the head portion. The ear portions are sized and configured to be rolled or folded as needed to be firmly captured between the sides of the infant""s head and the side walls of the receptacle of the car seat, thus providing firm support to the infant""s head. Whether the ear portions are tightly or loosely rolled or folded is dependent upon the size of the gap or space defined between the infant""s head and the side walls of the receptacle of the car seat. In this respect, for very small infants or newborns, the ear portions will typically be loosely rolled to effectively increase the width or thickness thereof, thus allowing the same to adequately fill the gap between the infant""s head and the side walls of the receptacle so as to provide firm support to the infant""s head. As the infant matures and grows, thus resulting in a reduced gap or space between the infant""s head and the side walls of the receptacle, the ear portions may be tightly rolled so as to reduce the effective width or thickness thereof. As the growth of the infant""s body (and in particular its head) continues, the ear portions may be folded as opposed to rolled thereby further reducing the effective width or thickness thereof.
In accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a car seat support similar in structure to the first embodiment, except that the ear portions are each provided in a reduced length, pillow-like configuration as opposed to having an elongate, strap-like configuration as in the first embodiment. Each of the ear portions of the car seat support of the second embodiment may be selectively folded inwardly into varying levels or degrees of overlapping relation to the head portion of the car seat support as needed to provide firm support to the sides of the infant""s head.
In accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a car seat support which is substantially similar to the car seat support of the second embodiment, but further includes a shroud portion which extends along the head and ear portions. The shroud portion is selectively movable between folded and unfolded or deployed orientations. When in the folded orientation, the shroud portion does not protrude outwardly beyond the ear portions, and thus does not protrude beyond the infant""s head resting upon the head portion. When in the unfolded or deployed orientation, the shroud portion protrudes well beyond the ear portions and thus the infant""s head, thus acting as a visor to prevent excessive exposure of the infant""s eyes to, for example, sunlight.
Still further in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a supplemental support which may be used in conjunction with the car seat support of either the first, second, or third embodiments of the present invention. The supplemental support comprises a rectangularly configured supplemental body portion and a pair of side rail portions which extend along respective ones of the opposed lateral sides of the supplemental body portion. The side rail portions are each formed to include a slight arcuate contour, and are each further selectively movable into varying levels or degrees of overlapping relation to the supplemental body portion. The side rail portions are adapted to provide firm support to the torso and arms of the infant when the supplemental body portion is placed into direct contact or engagement with the body portion of the car seat support.